


Everyone Comes to Ren's

by The_Artist_Formerly_Known_As_SatCat



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age gap changed, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Armitage Hux is a good man, Armitage is Viktor, Casablanca AU, Fake Character Death, Implied/referenced underage marriage in the past, Kylo is Rick, Multi, Rey is Elsa, Reylux - Freeform, Scenes from Rick's Cafe Americain, Senator!Hux, Smuggler!Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2020-04-24 19:18:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19179736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Artist_Formerly_Known_As_SatCat/pseuds/The_Artist_Formerly_Known_As_SatCat
Summary: The Casablanca in Space AU no one asked for! (Tagged M for underage warning; otherwise Teen+.)Here's the setup: The year is 31 ABY. Commandant Brendol Hux leads the FO under Snoke. Nearly the entire Galaxy is under FO control.Ben Solo became a smuggler, with his father, rather than training to become a Jedi. A young Armitage Hux, whose father Brendol is the same horrid, abusive man we all know and hate, happened into a situation where Senator Organa was able to take him under her wing, rescuing him from Brendol's abuse and mentoring him as a statesman and leader. Rey, who was born in 10 ABY (not 15 ABY), escaped Jakku by trading work for passage, and wound up on Coruscant in 25 ABY. She and Senator Hux were married in secret in 27 ABY. In 28 ABY, the Napkin Bombing claimed Senator Hux, who vanished during the evacuation and was reported killed.In 29 ABY, approximately 18 months before our story takes place, the Millenium Falcon exploded while in hyperspace flight. The flight logs showed the full crew (Captain Ben Solo & First Mate Poe Dameron) aboard. All crew, therefore, were presumed dead. Shortly afterwards, a man named Kylo Ren landed on Jakku and opened a cafe and gambling house called "Ren's".





	Everyone Comes to Ren's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tsukhood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukhood/gifts).



> ***This is a reposting of a deleted fic, which was originally posted to a Reylux exchange/collection. I no longer have access to the collection, so I am posting it on its own.***
> 
> Hey what's up some people have tracked me down to ask about some fics I wrote that they missed when I killed my account. By request, I am reposting some of them. I won't be checking for comments or anything else on them, since I don't really participate in the fandom much anymore.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy these in good health, and be kind to each other in the comments ok?!
> 
> ~(TAFKA)SC  
> Original A/N:
> 
> I've always been irritated at the artificial limitations that censorship placed on Casablanca. All three of them should have been on that plane. The only reason they weren't is because the Hayes Code (or whatever derived abomination the censors were working with) wouldn't allow a love triangle, especially not one explicitly and absolutely condemned. So screw THAT shit. ~~Rick Blaine~~ Kylo Ren is most emphatically getting on that plane!

Fully dressed for the evening, Kylo Ren sat at the dejarik table closest to the far wall, in the back room of his cafe, and stared, first at the pieces, then at the packet in his hand. Kylo had closed himself off from the Force long ago, to preserve his sanity and keep the nightmares at bay (and for other reasons he didn’t care to contemplate), but there were times that he wished for the certainty it used to give him. DJ had been there, grimy cap in hand, and had asked Ren to hold some hot clearance codes for him.

 _“Aw, c-come on now, Big R, it’s j-just business. The docs I get mean that people don’t have to pick a side, and they’re not left to rot here on Jakku.”_  
  
_“What time are they coming?”_  
  
_“Tonight at 2000, and I’m boarding with them.”_  
  
_Kylo raised an eyebrow._  
  
_“I’m d-done, Big R. The weather’s gotten too hot here.” He paused. “You know, I know everyone in this outpost. Lots of ’em owe me f-f-favors. But you? You despise me and you don’t owe no one nothing.” DJ touched the brim of his cap. “Makes you trustworthy.”_  
  
_Kylo’s gaze went back to his dejarik game, but he extended a hand toward DJ. “I’ll take them, but I’m dusting them at the end of the night.”_    
  
_“No worries, B-Big R. I’ll be long gone by then.”_

DJ let himself out the way he’d come in, and Ren hadn’t left the dejarik table since. He sat, stared, thought, moved pieces back and forth, and nursed a whiskey for hours. Holding these codes was dangerous, and it wasn’t like him to stick his neck out for anyone. A tingling in the back of his head had begun once he touched that packet, and had only grown stronger. Cut off from the Force as he was, however, and afraid of what it might mean, he refused to contemplate it. The waiters kept an eye on him, but generally avoided his table; when Ren got into one of these moods, it was better to leave him alone.

A quarter past 1900, a tall redhead and a slender brunette made their way to the front door of the cafe.

“Armitage Hux,” the ginger said to Connix when she greeted the couple at the door. “We should have a table reserved.”

To Connix’s credit, she didn’t bat an eyelash. “Of course, sir. Right this way.”

The couple had barely been seated when Captain Terex, the local enforcer, came to their table and introduced himself to the former Senator with a false warmth, welcoming them to Niima Outpost, emphasizing that he _‘hoped they would stay for a while’_. Armitage introduced his companion as Miss Rey, and invited the captain to sit and have a drink. The redhead went ramrod straight, however, and the woman paled, when Commandant Brendol Hux rose and strode over to join their party.

“Ah, Commandant, I was just telling the former Senator that you were Ren’s guest this evening.” Terex had, of course, said no such thing. Armitage stood, placing as much of himself as he could between his companion and his father.

“I have looked forward to our meeting, Armitage.” Brendol’s voice was a chip of ice.

“Would that your sentiment had been true at any point in my life.” Armitage was a more youthful reflection of his father’s steely character, hardness written over every feature, especially in the light eyes that burned with frigid fury.

“I’ll prove the depth of my enthusiasm. You and your companion will report to me in Captain Terex’ office tomorrow at 1000.”

Armitage sipped his drink in a calculated show of non-chalance. “You have no authority to order any such thing. That rests with Captain Terex, and I respect his authority and the Guild’s while on Jakkuvian soil.” Meanwhile, Rey had not stopped trembling, afraid for Armitage, yes, but also burning with rage at his father’s countless petty atrocities, no few of which had been directed at his own son–her secret husband. For once, she wondered if she had perhaps been better off without parents.

“Captain,” Armitage addressed Terex directly, ignoring Brendol, “are you ordering me to come to your office?”

Terex relaxed in his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “‘Order’ is such an unfriendly word. I would prefer to request a ‘friendly meeting’.”

The younger man allowed his posture to relax ever so slightly. “Very well, Captain.”

The Captain drained his glass and stood, and the two ex-Imperials excused themselves. The former Senator lit a cigarette and took a long drag. His father’s painful presence, combined with the absence of the slicer they had been meant to meet, meant there was a good possibility this whole thing was going to go sideways, with potentially deadly consequences.

Rey’s eyes opened, and she leaned over to the redhead, on the pretense of resting her head on his shoulder. Her voice was a faint whisper. “They’ve arrested our contact, but I don’t think they know where the codes are.”

Armitage nodded, realizing she must have been doing some selective mind probing. “I’ll order some drinks and see what I can find out.”

He kissed her forehead and stood up to walk to the bar, and she turned her focus to a new target. The Force had pulled her attention to a familiar pilot and droid when she had come in, and her heart had leapt so fiercely she had nearly stumbled. Poe was seated behind a different instrument panel now, headset on, and music blending and flowing through the cafe. He had been Ben’s friend from childhood, his co-pilot and partner in crime, and the two men had almost never been separated, even when Rey had been in the picture.

 _If Poe is alive…is it possible that Ben is–!_ She wouldn’t say it, wouldn’t let herself even think it, lest it turn out to be false hope that would shatter her heart all over again.

Rey summoned a waiter, who refilled her drink, and she asked him to send the DJ to her table between sets. Poe couldn’t help but appear, although his frown was heartbreaking, with BB-8 rolling beside him.

“Rey.” BB-8 beeped a chipper greeting as well.

“Poe, BB-8. It’s been a long time.” She extended a hand, and BB-8 was happy to roll up for belly rubs, chirping and whistling.

“Yes, it has, Rey. A long time and a lot of lightyears.”

“Will you play some of the old songs, Poe? Please?”

BB-8 beeped softly, and one song smoothly transitioned into another, one that she had listened to almost every night, side by side with _him_.

“Buddy…” Poe chided BB-8 gently, but the droid was unapologetic. Rey smiled at them, a delicate smile that wobbled with pain.

“Poe, how did you and BB-8 come to work for Mr. Ren?”

Poe shifted, and his presence in the Force was edgy. “I don’t know, chance of fate, I guess.” The little droid’s ocular unit shifted between Poe and Rey with what could only be described as ‘discomfort’.

“Mm.” She sipped her drink. “And what became of Captain Solo?”

“You must have read it on the HoloNet,” Poe said quickly, “he died when the hyperdrive on the Millenium Falcon exploded.” BB-8 whined _/she doesn’t believe you, buddy!/_

“You used to be a much better liar, Poe,” she chided, although there was no heat there–only a wistful tenderness. BB-8 beeped his agreement, and she smiled down at the droid. “You were his co-pilot, there’s no way that he was on that ship and you weren’t.”

Poe looked at her with deep anguish. “Leave him alone, Rey. You’re the worst kind of drug to him–he wouldn’t be able to resist you and I can’t watch you destroy him again.”

Immeasurable sadness crossed her eyes. “So he _is_ alive…and yet, I never _felt_ him…” she whispered. Rey willed herself to smile, although her shattered heart glistened at the corners of her eyes.

“All right, Poe. But please, play it one time, for old time’s sake. Then I swear I’ll go.”

“Play what, Rey? I don’t know what you mean,” Poe feigned ignorance while his brain whirled, looking for any way to get out of the situation, and BB-8 merely whistled mournfully.

“Play it, Poe. Play _Mirrorbright_.”

“Oh, I don’t have it in my library, I couldn’t…” His words trailed off when she produced a data chip from the pocket of her dress.

“I do, if you don’t. BB, do you want–” She held the chip out.

Poe’s face was a study in defeat. Waving his droid away from the chip, he queued up the song as requested, and allowed it to bleed into the current track until Uwa Pareece’s iconic, haunting contralto was all that remained. Rey’s eyes stared into the distance, flooded with memories of love and betrayal and pain and loss, her eyes filling with tears that stubbornly refused to fall. In the same moment, the door to the back room opened, and Kylo stood speechless as the music reached his ears. Agony flickered across his face, only to be replaced by bubbling anger, and he stormed over to Poe, ready to haul him up by his collar. BB-8’s alarm was shrill, and he rolled out of Kylo’s reach.

“Poe! I thought I told you to delete–!” The flicker of Poe’s eyes to one side made Kylo look up, and his raw, dark eyes locked onto Rey’s shimmering, tear-filled ones. Poe took one look between the two of them and fled back to the soundboard, BB-8 rolling as fast as he could go. Kylo’s lips twitched, his jaw working as if he were turning the words around in his mouth so they would come out right, and his eyes went even wider. Before he could speak, Captain Terex was walking back to the table with Armitage Hux.

“Ah, Miss Rey, I see that you’ve met Mr Ren–“

“Hello Rey.” His delivery was almost flat, but the windows of his eyes showed a man reeling with shock.

“Hello Ren,” she offered, nearly tripping over his _nom de guerre_.

Terex looked back and forth between them. “You already know Ren, Miss Rey? Well, then, do you already–“

“This is Armitage Hux, Ren.” Rey was quick to speak, though she didn’t know why she couldn’t bear to have anyone else introduce them.

“Kylo Ren,” Hux began, giving the other man an appraising look, “a pleasure to meet someone so famous throughout Jakku.”

“They may know my name here, but they know yours everywhere, Senator…although you’re a little more lively than reports would indicate.”

Hux flashed a smile. “Indeed. Would you do us the honor?”

Terex chuckled. “Kylo Ren never drinks with–“

Kylo pulled out a chair. “Thank you, I believe I will.”

Terex’s jaw dropped so low you could fly a freighter down his throat. “Well well! I must see this for myself! Kylo Ren, drinking with a customer!” He sat down, and turned to Rey.

“Miss Rey, how do you know Kylo Ren?”

“When you grow up on Jakku, Captain, you meet a great many people every day, passing through. I can safely say that none of the rest were quite like Kylo, though.” Her eyes were still shining with unshed tears, and Kylo’s pulse leapt, a jagged, wild stab. Hearing that name on her lips was every kind of wrong…and he hated it. Rey’s eyes never left Ren, and Armitage’s eyes narrowed in turn. He studied the proprietor with a keener interest than before.

“My dear Miss Rey, you are full of surprises!” Terex crowed. “Growing up on Jakku?! How ever did you survive?”

“I couldn’t say, Captain.” Her lips twitched. “A chance of fate, I suppose.”

A waiter arrived, and served a round of drinks. Armitage toasted.

“To fate, may it always favor the foolish.”

Rey smiled at the redhead, placing her hand over his, and Kylo’s stomach sank.

Armitage Hux had survived as long as he had by being observant and silent, and if those skills weren’t failing him, there was quite a story between his wife and the cafe owner, some of it still rather raw. However, he knew this was not the place to get Rey to open up about Kylo Ren. After making pointless conversation for a few minutes, he finished his drink and turned to Rey.

“My dear, I hate to say it, but I fear it is late, and it wouldn’t do to overstay our welcome on our first night in Niima.” He stood, and Rey took his waiting arm. “Good night, sirs. We hope to see you again tomorrow.”

“Quite right,” the Captain agreed. “There is a curfew in place, and it wouldn’t do for you to be out past then. Senator, Miss Rey, I bid you a good night.”

“Good night Captain,” she replied, and turned. “Good night, Ren.” She looked into his eyes, as if expecting something, and turned away, crushed, when she didn’t find it there. Kylo watched her go, his insides churning wildly, and his exterior cool dangerously cracked.

“Your bill, sir,” the waiter approached the Captain, but Ren waved him off.

“Not tonight, Kirik, it’s on mine.”

“My goodness!” Terex exclaimed. “All of Kylo Ren’s cherished traditions, crashing down in the space of an evening!” the Captain chuckled.

Just then, Commandant Hux came charging forth, demanding that the cafe be closed. A short argument ensued–there was no legal excuse to close the cafe, but Brendol Hux shoved, and Terex’s neutrality crumbled, as Kylo had known it would. The Captain’s men ushered everyone out, and Terex turned to face a Kylo who was vibrating with anger.

“Now, Ren, it’s for the best. A little drama will bring them back in spades.” Without waiting for an answer, the Captain strode out, and his minions tacked signs to the door that said ‘CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. -CAPTAIN TEREX’

Later that night, Poe, BB-8, and Connix had finished cleaning up, and the two humans had come upstairs to say good night to Ren. They found him at his small table with the dregs of a bottle of Corellian whiskey. The booze was burning his insides, though it couldn’t scour away the pain, the loneliness, the sense of loss. His fist slammed the table, and he turned to them, breathing hard, voice slurred.

“Of all the gin joints on all the planets in the whole galaxy, she walks into mine!” 

“Ben, maybe we should just leave, go out for a joyride, buddy, huh?” Poe was trying to soothe him, but he couldn’t really be soothed. He was all wild grief and rage.

“No!! She’ll be back tonight, I could see it in her eyes!”

A look passed between Connix and Poe, but they left, knowing that it would be useless for them to stay. Less than a quarter of an hour later, Rey’s slight form appeared on the outer balcony, and she let herself in.

“Breaking in?” Kylo brayed, drunk, hurt, and angry. “There’s nothing for you to steal! You burned down anything worth having back on Naboo.”

“Ben, please, I–“

“Oh, it’s Ben again, now, is it? Come on, sit down, have a drink.” She sat, but refused the drink. His anger sloshed into moodiness, and he poured himself another. “Why are you here?”

She looked at him as if he’d slapped her. “To see you.”

“No, no! Why are you on Jakku at all?! There are other ways for you to get to the Core worlds, why Jakku?? I thought you hated it here! You said you’d never return!” He chuckled bitterly. “Of course, you said a lot of things. ‘Ben, I love you’, ‘Ben, I’ll go anywhere with you, let’s just fly away’.”

“Don’t, Ben, please. I understand how you feel.”

Another bitter laugh. “You understand how I feel. How long was it we had, _sweetheart_?” Oh yes, he was so gloriously self-destructive that he’d use _that_ word, the one that had belonged to his parents.

“I didn’t count the days.” She looked at her hands, unable to meet his gaze.

“Well, I did, every one of them. Mostly, I remember the last one. The wild finish: a man standing on a docking bay in the rain with a comical look on his face because his insides had been kicked out. Tell me, who was it you left me for? Was it Armitage, or were there others in between? Or aren’t you the kind that tells?”

Oh, oh he had cut her heart out with that line, and he relished the feeling of savaging what remained of his own heart along with hers. The pain and rage that cascaded over her face were almost palpable, as if something was battering at his mental shields. She probably was. Rey leapt to her feet and turned her back on him, pacing the room. He downed his drink, slamming the glass onto the table, and she whirled to face him.

“Is this what you need, Ben? To tear me to shreds? Do you really hate me so much?” She pinned him with a gaze, her eyes seeking…something. “You must, because you don’t even care _why_.” She began to back away from him, tears shining in her eyes, heading back toward the balcony.

“I guess I still don’t understand what love is,” she continued, pouring her pain into each word. “I thought you loved me once, as I love you; that you might care about me still, as I do you. I guess our loves…aren’t the same. Maybe…they never were. Maybe that’s the punishment I deserve, to have mourned you as dead and to love you still, while you are alive and…hate me.” Her voice trailed into a whisper, then twisted into a shudder.

“ **Don’t!** ” he thundered, the chair clattering to the floor. “Don’t you **dare** pretend that you still care about me!” His hands balled into fists. “You’re not here for _me_ , or for _“us”_! You’re here for _him_! You’re here, ready to say or do **anything** if it gets you those clearance codes! You’re here to beg and lie and do whatever it takes to get your ‘ **great and noble HERO** ‘ what _he_ needs!”

Tears streamed down her face. “ **NO** , Ben! I came here to see **YOU**! I came to give you the explanation that I _couldn’t_ give then, because it would have put _you_ _in danger_! I was willing to let you think the worst of me… _to keep you safe._ Then, the news came that you had…you were…you made me believe you were _**DEAD**_ , Ben! Severed yourself from the Force and our bond absolutely! You don’t get to _condemn_ me for not knowing better! _**Believe me**_ , if I’d had ANY notion you were _ALIVE ON JAKKU_ ; I would never have come–” her sentence screeched to a halt as her brain processed what he had said.

“Wait. _You_ have the clearance codes? Our contact–was you?!” An ember of hope glowed in her chest, and its warmth infused her eyes, her voice.

“DJ was arrested. He’s probably dead now.” Ben’s voice was barely audible, his expression stricken. She _hadn’t_ come here to get the codes?

“Oh, Ben, don’t you see?” She moved toward him. “It’s the Force that’s brought us back together! I would never have come, had I known you were here, and yet this is where I was meant to find you again.”

He reached for her, hesitantly, but then pulled back as fear and doubt assailed him. “No! I won’t let you do this! I won’t…I won’t give them to you, no matter what you offer me.” His voice shook. “I won’t let you use me and leave me again, even for him!”

She closed the distance. “I won’t leave you again, Ben. It would mean everything to me if you helped him escape, so that he can continue the fight, but…I won’t go. I _can’t_ go. It nearly killed me to do it once, I could never do it twice.” She hovered, aching and lips trembling, so near to him, but the inches were miles.

“I tried to kill the past–to let _us_ die,” he babbled, a shaking hand pushing through his hair. “I thought I had, but then, tonight, when I saw you, and…you looked at me that way…” His eyes tried to take in all of her, so close to him, and his body jolted and hummed as if a current were running through him. “Oh, _Rey_ …”

He lost all control in the kiss that followed, and clung to her as desperately as she to him. At their first touch, the levees broke, and the Force crashed through him, wave after wave, as their bond ignited. He was flooded with her memories, the agony of her grief, the comfort that she had taken in Leia, the peace and purpose that Armitage found in her. They loved one another, and yet it had never diminished her love for Ben, nor did Armitage begrudge Ben’s place in her heart.

 _“Were you lonely, on Naboo, Starlight?” Armitage asked, tenderness in his eyes._ They were wearing the same clothes as they had in the cafe earlier; this was a new memory.  
  
_“Yes, Taj, I was.” Rey admitted, unable to meet his gaze._  
  
_“I know how it is to be lonely. I would never have wanted that for you, Rey.” Armitage paused. “Is there…anything you want to tell me about your time on Naboo?”_  
  
_Rey looked at him, carefully, and saw only love and understanding reflected in his pale blue eyes. She allowed herself a smile. “No, Taj…I think you know all you need to already.”_  
  
_“Rey, you know I love you very much.”_  
  
_“Yes, Taj, I do know. Taj…” she paused. “Please, I need to know that whatever happens…whatever I might do…you believe that I–“_  
  
_“Starlight, you don’t have to say anything.” He kissed her forehead, and held her close, whispering in her ear. “I’ll believe anything you tell me.”_

Ben and Rey were so overwhelmed in the flood of Force and feelings that they failed to realize they were no longer alone. The sound of a match strike broke their kiss, and they turned to see the dying light of a small flame. Smoke and shadow curled around a tall, slender silhouette.

“I thought I might find you here, Rey.” Armitage said, softly.

“Taj, I–”

“Thank you, Kylo, for taking care of her while I was away.”

 _Such a euphemistic way to talk about time in a prison colony!_ , Ben thought.

“I knew that Leia’s friends would keep her safe on Naboo, but it is good to know that she wasn’t lonely.”

“I suppose,” Ben replied, turning to face Armitage more fully, “you could count me in that number. Among Leia’s friends, I mean.”

“Is that how you two met?” The redhead’s curiosity was genuine, Ben could tell.

“Something like that. I was off-world with Dad when Mom took you under her wing as a protegé.”

 _“Ben Solo?!”_ The ginger nearly choked on his cigarette.

Ben nodded, and Armitage simply laughed. “I suppose I’m not the only one whose obituaries were premature.”

“No, I guess not.” Ben smiled, for the first time in what felt like years.

Rey stiffened, as if she were listening for something on the wind. Ben shot her a look, but his senses were so stunned from the onslaught that he was still effectively Force-blinded.

“Ben, they’re coming. They’ll be here soon, and they’re going to tear the cafe apart! What do we do? “

Ben took a long look at the other two, particularly at Armitage. “I suggest that we not be here when they arrive. I need five minutes to put everything in order here.”

Armitage took Rey by the arm and lead her out of the room. Ben cleaned out the safe, transferred a few month’s wages to each employee, and drew up instructions for the disposition of the cafe’s ownership. He also sent a secure transmission to Poe with one of the codes attached. Ben had every intention of pursuing his own happiness now, consequences be damned. He didn’t know whether Poe was ready to settle down and take over the cafe, or if he missed the skies too much–the least Ben could do was give his old friend the choice.

“Taj, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She was caught in a tug-of-war between the high of Ben’s return from the dead, the dread of being pulled apart by two men who might each want her for himself, and the potential sting of being turned away by either because he wouldn’t share with the other. Her heart was overflowing with love, so much love, enough for all of them, but…love didn’t work like that, did it?

“Don’t be.” He stroked Rey’s face. “Even as long as we were apart, I still know you well enough to know what you look like when you’re in love.”

Rey opened her mouth to protest, but Hux kissed her instead, slowly and sweetly, as if he were pouring his whole heart into it.

“Only a monster would ask you to leave someone you love, Starlight. Other men with my name might be monsters, but I’d like to think I’m not.”

“Then that means you can’t leave either!” Rey was panicked. She felt terribly selfish, but she was desperate not to lose either man.

He chuckled. “I have no intention to.”

Rey gave him a puzzled frown.

“We can talk about it later, Starlight. Just know that we can figure it out. I love you, you love me, he loves you, you love him. I’d never call it _easy_ , but it seems fairly simple to me.”

“Oh, Taj,” she sighed, her voice crumbling under the weight of everything. “I don’t know what to think. Please, you need to do the thinking for both of us. For all of us.”

Getting off of the planet was surprisingly simple. The codes that DJ had given Ben were high level, allowing the ship absolute freedom of movement, and within minutes, they had set a course for Coruscant. Now that they had nothing but hours in front of them, Armitage cleared his throat gently.

“I think we all need to have a discussion.”

Rey steeled herself for rejection, and Ben raised an eyebrow, puzzled by her feelings and his words.

“Ben, let me explain to you how things stand. Rey asked me to do the thinking for all of us, and I’ve done quite a bit of it. Even before we came to Jakku, I suspected some things, and as I watched the two of you, I discovered more things.” Ben started and flushed at that. “So while you don’t necessarily owe anyone your consideration, I would ask that you let me finish and then we can figure out where to go from there.”

He paused. Rey’s eyes were closed, her head leaning back, and Ben seemed to consider Armitage’s words for a moment before swallowing and nodding. The ginger hummed.

“First of all: Rey and I are married.” Ben, bewildered, looked between Rey and Armitage with churning unease. “We’ve been secretly married for nearly four years now. When the two of you were together, on Naboo, I had been reported as dead, but in reality, I was in a prison colony in the Otomok system. Rey had no reason to believe that I still lived–for a while, I thought I was going to die there, too.”

Hux took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, before exhaling and continuing the story. “I was found by friends of Leia’s, who knew of our marriage. While I was recovering with them, they got word to Rey that I was alive. It was in the days leading up to the First Order conquest of Naboo, and they were able to get her off-world safely, and reunite us.”

Tears were streaming down Rey’s face, and the memories made her heart spasm painfully. Ben could feel the pain, could see the associated memories, and he wanted to reach out to her more than anything, and take her hand, but everything was different, now. She had just kissed him, told him she loved him, and that she couldn’t leave him again, but…

“I understand,” Ben began, his heart cracking. “When we make it to Coruscant, I–I won’t get in the way.”

Rey sobbed, and Armitage fixed Ben with a look that was a cross between pity and irritation. “A noble thought, Solo, but let me finish?”

Ben’s mouth fell open, but he closed it, and just listened.

“Rey is…well, she’s extraordinary. You know how warm and loving she is.” Armitage looked at Rey, his eyes glowing with admiration.

Ben nodded.

“Can’t you feel how much she loves you still?”

Ben’s head tilted as he tried to understand what Armitage _wasn’t_ saying. He was feeling warmth from Rey over the bond, warmth directed toward _both_ men.

“I…” he hesitated.

“ _Ben_.” Rey’s eyes were open, flowing with tears, and he was overwhelmed, again. He allowed himself, just for a moment, to envision a situation in which Rey didn’t have to choose; where no one had to lose her and she wasn’t left feeling abandoned by a man she loved enough to kill for, to die for, to live for. It was beautiful, all warmth and light and color, all grace and love.

“And…you’re…just willing to…share?” This was terra incognita, and Ben tread lightly and carefully.

Hux resisted the impulse to pinch the bridge of his nose. This was such a simple matter, why did people have to make it so complicated?

“She’s…she’s not exactly _mine_. She’s _hers_. She’s given me her love and her commitment, but she doesn’t _belong_ to anyone. Even were I not around, she would never be _yours…_ or anyone else’s, for that matter.”

Armitage’s mouth curved upwards as he watched identical expressions of the ‘stunned tauntaun’ variety bloom on their faces, and it took on a maniacal grin when he saw the possibilities behind their darkened, blown pupils.

The bond between Ben and Rey was _singing_ , blooming with love and understanding and desire and gratitude and a thousand other, unnameable emotions. He felt her joy, gratitude, and love for Armitage wash over him, and yet saw that his own place in her heart was, again, undiminished. Could this truly work?

There they were on a starship, in the hyperlanes, with nothing but time on their hands, and love in their hearts. They would find out, together.


End file.
